use he disdained them and had no real
regard for them. Arguments attacking him were made by various boys, but
when it came to Napoleon's turn to defend himself he refused, on the
ground that whether he were commander or not made little difference to
him. The court-martial thereupon decided to degrade him from his rank
and a formal sentence was read aloud to him. He seemed very little
concerned, and took his place with the other privates without any show
of ill feeling. For almost the first time the boys felt a sort of
affection for him because he bore his humiliation so well.

Unlike most boys he really seemed to care very little whether he was
popular or not; all he asked was a chance to learn the art of warfare.
He was happiest when he was left alone to study history. Plutarch's
"Lives" was his favorite book, and his favorite nation among the ancient
peoples was that of Sparta, because he admired the Spartans' stern sense
of heroism and hoped to copy them. That was the reason Monsieur Pichegru
had given him the nickname of "The Spartan," and the name stuck to him
for years.

The Corsican boy's first desire was to be a sailor. He hoped he might be
sent to the southern coast of France where he would be near his own
beloved island home. It so happened, however, that one of the French
military instructors came to Brienne after Napoleon had been there about
five years, and immediately took an interest in the boy. A little later
he, with four others, was chosen to enter a famous military school in
Paris as what were known as "gentlemen cadets." The report that was sent
to Paris respecting Bonaparte stated that he was domineering, imperious,
and obstinate, but in spite of these qualities he was chosen because of
his great ability in mathematics and the art of warfare.

The military school of Paris was one of the sights of the French
capital. Famous visitors were always taken there, and the cadets were
intended to form the flower of the French army. Only a few of the boys
who were at the schools in the provinces were chosen to come to Paris,
and those who were chosen were put through a rigid course of study and
of physical drill in preparation for service in the army. Most of the
boys were sons of the nobility and were accustomed to bully their less
distinguished comrades.

When Bonaparte had been in Paris a very short time he had his first
fight with such a boy. He was quite able to hold his own, but all that
first year